"Padawan, take your friend and retreat. I will take care of the dogs."

I don't think that's too far off the mark, Ven thought in reference to their latest obstacles. Though he and Janus had just been saved, he held no illusions that they were in the clear just yet. Having been looking out in case some Sith decided to take the place of their fallen General, the young Padawan instead felt something much, much different.

Hungry for death, their bloodlust high. Though this was not too far off from your standard Sith, what Ven felt was more primal. That and it felt like not just one but a whole pack of wild animals had just decided to focus on them. A quick look around the chaos of the battle allowed him to catch the appearance of the Sith-spawned beasts that he had earlier glimpsed at the start of this battle. If the young Padawan had to admit it, he was slightly fearful of them. Sith, as crazed and power hungry as they were, still held some form of intellect and, to be frank, were at the very least human - or humanoid - so their thoughts, desires, and will for survival could be somewhat similar to any other sentient being.

Not these things. There was just a pure, beastial drive for blood and carnage that only came with cornering and tearing apart their prey with very little thought to their own well-being. Ven could not deny that he was intimidated by them.

But this was not to be his fight and he was ashamed to feel a small sense of relief. He tried to excuse himself with the thought that these beasts were far beyond his element, that his lack of knowledge and experience could prove deadly to him in this kind of confrontation, and engaging in this battle would only prove a hindrance to Lora Skywalker who just ordered him to retreat.

"Now."

Speaking of being intimidated...Ven felt an unpleasant tingle roll down his spine at Lora's hiss.

"Yes, Master Skywalker," Ven finally obeyed. Still a bit inexperienced when it came to the war and its participants, Ven was unsure if he should be referring to her by her Jedi or military rank. However, Admiral Skywalker did not feel right to him so he just stuck with Master. Keeping an eye out for in case one of the beasts decided to come for him anyway, Ven moved over to Janus and knelt down to help him up. "Let's go Janus."

His lightsaber in one hand and Janus's still in his other, Ven bent down to help his fellow Jedi get back to his feet and lead him out of this duel. The near-strangulation may still leave Janus disoriented but Ven hoped his friend would get back to normal soon to not only stand confidently on his two feet but also wield his lightsaber again.

Saya lowered her own blade and turned her head, looking into the darkness of the tunnel with her eyeless face before turning back to Erian.

“What is the failure of a single knight, when a whole order fails?” Saya sighed and her lightblade ceased to exist. “It is the order itself. You know it, deep, deep down in your heart. There is something very wrong with the Jedi Order. The silent master they call the ONE, the war council, the Inquisition.” She paused. “The War.” Saya looked once more into the dark tunnel and turned to him. “A slow descent into darkness. But like gravity field soaking them in, the order will soon surpass the point of no return.”

She leaned forward and her voice became a whisper. “Tython. All answers you need you will find there. When you find the reason why my brothers and sisters had to die you will see what is wrong with our order and with you. And the truth shall free you.” She smiled at him and then slowly raised again, straightening her body.

The figure was no bigger than a child, but as soon as she entered the giant halls oft he majestic palace of Argai the assembled Sith, politicans, ambassadors and officers fell silent and their crowd parted to allow the strange creature to pass them on it´s way to the throne.

If the Voice of the Dark Lord was present, nobody dared to speak up and when The Voice spoke, the Sith and all their allies listened. The agless, childish appearance of the creature could not hide the simple truth that it spoke with the authority of the Dark Lord himself and the Dark Lord was beyond questioning for the present assembly of loyal servants to the New Sith Empire.

The creature passed the court with no hurry and finale climbed the steps to the Throne. It sat down con it, something that meant certain death to anybody but the Dark Lord, except THE VOICE and then it finally opened it´s eyes, revealing living eyes in a face otherwise not alive. Black armored honor-guards appeared behind her and build two lines from the throne to the crowd. The Voice ignored them and instead allowed her eyes to wander, taking time to look at those present. Then it opened it´s mouth, as if it was about to speak and shut it again.
The crowd was captivated, following every gesture.

The Voice took it´s time and finally it began to speak and the words were those a little girl, but with the power of all the Dark side carrying them.

“These are the words of my Master, these are the words of the Dark Lords of the Sith Nefarious the Great. Hear them and you shall be freed.”

It paused, against sending looks into the crowd, as if it was looking for someone special. The eyes finally locked on Count Tespa of Argai, one of the most influential industrialists in the Sith Empire and a bulky man with a powerful presence, especially when in the company of his Sith wife, Lady Zazza. Then they slowly turned to Darth Czari, the ledest and most influential of the Sith Lords present. Finally she turned to the crowd as a whole again, showing no sign of emotion and spoke. It was not the raspy voice of their Dark Lord himself, but a mimicry of it by the voice of the small child, using his intonation and speech patterns.

“The Ring of Fire is burning as it always has. But the fire is consuming all who bath to long in it and the Jedi have taken a very long and painful bath. The Gordian Reach is about to fall and soon our dreams will come true and our mighty fleets will begin their invasion on our true enemy, the Third Republic. For the first time since our initial attack we shall fight solely on the enemies territory and see their planets burn. The Sith shall feast on the fear and despair of our enemies and Tion, Cron and the Huttese allies shall rip their resources from their worlds.” The Voice paused and the present court was fighting down the urge to applaud. The Dark Lord would not tolerate such behavior though, neither would his voice. “On Nesron the war will be decided, as our dark Seers have foreseen it years ago. To assure our swift victory there, I have send my Shadowhand Darth Tod to lead our troops in the campaign towards the core that shall follow our victory on Nesron.” This time the pause left nothing but the urge to stay silent. Darth Tod was the Dark Lord´s most deadly weapon, sparely used and if so only for the most important tasks.
“Once his victory is complete you shall receive new orders, how to contribute to the great victory that lies in our future.”

Again the voice of the VOICE died down. The pause grew longer, until they understood the message was over. Looks were exchanged, whispers were spoken.

_____________
Darth Antreduu had left the assembly as soon as it had been appropriate and had hurried to his private chambers. The secured line to his allies had already been opened and the Quarrian Sith knelt before the hooded man standing before him now as a holographic projection.
“My Lord, you must reach Darth Lagore, immediately. Things have changed.”

“In what way have things changed, my apprentice.”

“That Forever War we feared, the Sith might win it after all, my Master.”

There was a long moment between the two men and then without further comment the projection disappeared.

Antreduu stood up and sighed. This was unforeseen and their treachery suddenly seemed to be something that could be fatal to their original ideas. But he knew Lagore would not listen. He knew the old scolar had played his own games from the beginning. He had to do something about it, before the old fool ruined the victory of their kind. He typed a number of keys into his holodesk and contacted his agent on Corellia.

Urijah rolled his eyes at Cilarn, "Well then, I guess all I can do is wait then. I suppose I'll go to Administrative Building to sign up for tomorrow to kill time."
Urijah strolled out of the Tunnels leaving the two men behind. It had gotten fairly dark out in the time he had spent in the tunnels and he doubted the building would even be open. After wandering around the administrative sector of Coronet for a good twenty minutes, he finally found the building.

Urijah looked up to the top of the building, Must have an impressive view of the city from up there, Urijah thought. Then the disturbance hit, and it was a very strange one. This one was different from the one he felt coming into the city, it was present disturbance this time, not a warning. Urijah straightened himself up and reached out with the force feeling the surrounding area for the disturbance. He found it, it was a strange feeling however, it was almost artificial?

Imbued. Urijah cursed under his breath, he hated the imbued. They were all a stain in the force as far as Urijah was concerned. The Jedi and Sith just used them so they could kill even more of each other. Urijah summoned one of his two lightsaber to his hand, feeling the cold metal of the hilt clap into his hand was a satisfying feeling. Reaching out with the force again he tried to pinpoint the direction the disturbance had originated from. Found it!

Urijah took off running in the direction of the disturbance, determined to find it.

Tython. The ancestral home of the Jedi. He only knew of it from his studies as an apprentice and nothing more except what she had done there. "Why are you telling me all this?" he had to ask, his own lightsaber shutting down with a sucking hiss and plunging them into darkness. But he didn't need his eyes to see her. He could see her through the Force, a bright beacon in the dark and for a brief moment he wondered if this is how she saw the world.

Erian also wondered what it was that she kept glancing down the sewer tunnel for. He stretched his awareness outward, half hoping whatever it was that it was Imbued or Lila. Surely Lila would have felt his pain and would be coming for him? If help was coming, did he want them to catch Saya though? She was not what he had been led to believe and he wasn't sure if he should slay her after all. This woman had the chance to kill him but had chosen instead to reason with him and push through his barriers to the doubts he held within.

Doubts of the Protectorate. The Potentium. The Jedi. The War. Himself.

A Dark Jedi would not have done that. He would not have done that before today.

Zara smirked and then fully concentrated. Three were two more than she had expected and her Master had predicted. And there were greater warriors with the blade than Zara, really. But she did not doubt her mission or the Dark Lord´s plan for Corellia. She would not fail, for failure was for a Sith . . . never an option. Igniting her lightblade she stabbed it into the glass below and waited for a second to shatter. Breathing in she landed right between the three assassins and her target, with her face turned to the three attackers. She hoped the Prime Minister would not shot a Sith in the back just by seeing one, but if so it was his life that would end here right after hers. She had no doubt these men were experienced murderers. The only reason why the Prime Minister was still alive was probably because they had to put up their little hsow before finishing him off.

Now she had disturbed them and she was sure they were going to try and end this quickly.

"Prime Minister." She simply said as a greeting, her eyes not leaving the three enemies, as she brought her crimson red blade up and before her body. "Gentlemen?"

She waited for them to make the first move. Maybe that was not how she had been teached things, but she had to protect the Prime Minister first and foremost. Everything else came second.

He took a moment to dispatch a fellow Jedi behind him, and Arek could do nothing but watch. The young man had been in the command gunship during the descent from the fleet above, and Arek had sensed his nervousness as he had desperately tried to bring it under control.

All for naught. While the man’s head tumbled toward the ground, Arek briefly caught a glimpse of his face, contorted into an expression of bewilderment and fear of death. This was a fight that Longstar had to win. And he wasn’t going to win it without employing a dedicated lightsaber form. He had been trained in many different techniques, as were all Jedi, but for the fight against Vibre, Longstar decided to assume Djem So. His plan was to initially wear down the physically-larger opponent.

Awareness of the battle around him drained away as Arek finally shed his cloak and raised his saber high into a defensive stance. He was unfettered now, with just his black synth-leather tabbard which was covered in rectangular matte black plastoid armor sections.

He reached out with the Force as he edged forward, and felt the pouch of lightsaber crystals which hung at all times from his belt. A flood of tangled emotions was attached to each, but he always communed with them before a particularly challenging fight. It helped him to compartmentalize any kind of distracting emotions that would potentially break his battle-focus. By having an epicenter of controlled chaos on his person at all times, he found it very effective in combat, as it allowed him to fight without overextending himself.

Giving his form over to the Force itself, he began a measured run at Vibre, the only other being he allowed himself to see. Arek was ready for his opponent’s probable rush of opening attacks, while saving his own strength for Force-assisted criticals.

Wondering what the hold up was, Myrah lowered herself from the freighter.

Seconds before she asked someone when the next group was destined to arrive, a mining craft came right through the man made hole they had been using. The crews cheers were heard even down at Myrah's position. She even clapped a little at the sight. They were only a snap of the fingers away from getting off this planet and completing another successful mission.

“There they are, you take them and you go last. General Torben will be with you, he is the guy organizing all of this.” Morne came to a stop beside Myrah, his shouts obviously directed at her. Myrah nodded, clasping his shoulder as her own sign of wishing him luck as well. She rushed over to the transport, eyes scanning the people as they exited it. One man seemed to carry himself as if he was influential. He had a look about him of high position, something that stuck out in Myrah's eyes. She approached the man she could only assume was General Torben and stuck out her hand.

"Myrah, at your service." She added in a pleasant smile, something she had learned a long time before. "I'll be piloting the freighter for this batch, I do believe."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed another person a little odd to be joining this group. A woman. . .she believed. It was kind of dark, but she thought it was a woman.

There was no time to react. The doors to his office blew in as soon as the blaster was in his hand. Fortunately, he was off to the side and he was able to crouch down and cover his head to protect himself from the full brunt of the explosion. But as he would soon find out, the explosion was the least of his worries.

Three large, intimidating figures with red, glowing blades now stood in the hole left by the explosion. At their feet lay what was left of his security detail, including his friend, Cale. Thom swallowed the lump in his throat and raised his chin slowly, staring into the lifeless faces of his attackers and spearing them with a hard glare. It was a look that told them that he would not be bullied into submission. If they wanted to take him, they would need to take him the hard way.

He started to raise the blaster into position to take a shot when the leader surged forward, crashing into his desk and scattering priceless antiquities and confidential documents in every direction. Thom fell back against the wall with the display, his finger accidentally squeezing the trigger in the process. The bolt screamed past his attacker's head and impacted harmlessly against the far wall.

“Prime Minister, this can be quick and easy for you or we can do it . . . our way," the leader hissed as he stalked forward for the kill.

He sneered in response and rose to his feet, preparing to show defiance as his last stand. He didn't expect to live through this encounter, but perhaps the gods weren't finished with him yet. At the last second, a fourth figure burst into the room. More elegant and graceful than the others, is was quite evident that this one was female. And apparently, she was on his side...for now.

Thom did not hesitate as the newcomer came between them and quickly shuffled away from the core of the action. His eyes quickly scanned the room, eventually stopping on the blown doorway and the hallway beyond. While that seemed like the logical escape route, he was uncertain how he would get by his attackers and even if he did manage that feat, where would he go?

Then again, he was now in the hands of this...Jedi. How ironic, considering the deal he had just made. Perhaps she would offer an alternative...if she survived.

“That’s certainly understandable,” Callista said as she nodded in agreement to Toben. She could understand wanting to avoid the war, even if she herself didn’t necessarily avoid being hired by its participants. In this particular instance anyway, the resistance, the concept moved her. That so many people were coming together, and gathering so many resources, to save their children from an indoctrinated life in war. It was really quite something.

Callista could never know what it meant to be a mother, all but the most advanced medical scanners in the Galaxy still read her as human, but she would never have that capability. She would never bear a child. She could only wonder, and dream, and in that desire she felt compassion for these people, risking their lives, knowing they’ll be labeled traitors, and probably killed on sight, because they care for their children so much.

When the loaders arrived she stepped off after Toben, the children scurrying out, led around by their keepers to keep them together as they tried their best to still be kids. She was going to enquire if any of the kids being loaded were actually Toben’s when a woman walked up to the General and introduced herself as the groups pilot. She noticed the woman glance at her and she nodded, not knowing if the woman herself could see it. It was dark after all, and not everybody had built in night vision.

GM Note: Looks like weekends is better ofr me to update right now. Busy at work, but I got this in sight and I am looking forward to my next update. So get your posts in til Friday. And then expect a few updates over the weekend, depending on you, really. Thanks for the patience. Draco

Terryn observed, as he blocked and slashed continuously, that Lousea was gathering some of her best soldiers. The majority of them were Imbued, and that fact scared him a bit, but he understand the trials and tribulations it had taken to become Imbued. It was a curse and a blessing in the same.He smirked a little at his ally, who shown her own amount of bravery and leadership as she gathered them. Bravery was key in a battle of this magnitude. It had been key in Bakura as well. . .

“For THE ONE!” Lousea’s battle cry once again ripped him away from his memories. She glanced in his direction, meeting his eyes once. He nodded, and began to run alongside her, ready to confront the Slayer. . .and perhaps meet his death.

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched a grenade land and explode. The resounding boom was yet another expected sound from a battle. And yet emerging from the smoke and desolation, a Sith with a vibrant red face came swinging at the defense. Terryn realized how pervious this might be to the Atlas as a whole, if this man was allowed to crush through all of them.

“Continue plan!” Terryn hollered to Lousea, noticing how the Slayer had his blade raised in anticipation. “Keep him busy while I deal with a problem!”

As Terryn flipped over several battling Sith to land near the redfaced Sith, he could only hope he wasn’t feeding Lousea to the wolf. He charged towards the man, and right when he was going to slash, he sidestepped and did a crouch, hoping to catch the man in the legs.

Toben turnbed his head, as the two women met and then looked to Morne turned to Callista and smiled. “You are new?” Torben gave him a look. “She helped us down there.” He said and then his head turned. Callista´s advanced hearing perceived it now, too. Noises. And then a trembling, the ground was shaking and an explosion thundered through the cave. The main gate had just been opened the hardest way and through it, usng dust and debris as cover, stormed soldiers. Protectorate soldiers. “They found us!” Morne yelled out, but Torben already had the gun up and fired at the entering enemies.
“get the kids to the ships! All others hold htem back!” and his men, despite being lost already and having no chance of survival, took cover and opened fire on the intruders.Tag:
@Kahn_Iceay,
@spycoder9

Vjun, Sewer

Saya looked down at the defeated Jedi, as far as an eyeless Miraluka could look at someone and then she leaned forward. “I am telling you all this, because there is hope. A tiny little light is still shining in the galaxy and you have a spark of it in you, Inquisitor. And we will need every spark. Because there is something you indeed do not know. The future. It is not in motion anymore. No matter how long we meditated on it, the result was always the same. The future . . . “ Saya hung her lightsaber at her belt and straightened again. A strange gesture, as if she was preparing for something. “There is none.”
Then she looked to the side. “Just as I have forse . . .” She never ended the sentence, as a shot rang through the tunnel and hit her head. It did not burst or burn. It simply vanished. All of her. And her lightsaber and her robes fell to the ground empty, as if she had never been there.

“Go to Tython, and your quest for the truth will begin.” It were her words, spoken into the force in the moment of death and received right after her vanishing in the force.
“We found him, the traitor is dead.” That was the voice of Commander Trest, an Imbued recruited for the Inquisition by Lila once. “Are you okay, Sir?” The man in his black armor asked Erian.Tag: @Comdr

Corellia, Bureau of the Prime Minister

“And who would you be, little lady?” The leftmost standing assassin asked Zara. A distraction, as the one closest to her, the one right before her attacked in that second, while the third at her side tried to pass her to reach the Prime Minister. The attacker braught his blade up high, to crush her with his superior power. They were using the force, but they were not especially powerful, they were trained with lightsabers, but not especially well, but they were handling themselves very professionally, coordinating their group without looking.
They were simply not force-users for very long, because . . . they had been Imbued with the force. Recently.

Tag: HanSolo29, TheSithGirly (see PM)

Corellia, The Government District

The Jedi did not get far, before three dozen guns, some from guards, some from security droids, were pointed at him. Despite the breach of security which was obvious for those feeling the force, the Government district was still a high security zone. “Don´t move!” The leader of the guards shouted at him, as his men began to circle. “This is a restricted area. Jedi!” And the moment he said the word Jedi Urijah could feel that the man did not feel any trust or confidence in the presence of a Jedi, no he despised him. Most of his men did. They were even more mistrusting, because Urijah was a Jedi and they were prepared to deal with Jedi, not Sith, but Jedi. They were afraid of Jedi, actually. Some things had changed, obviously, in the five years of Urijah´s journey. On Corellia for example, the Jedi were no longer considered friends.

Cilarn looked after the leaving Jedi and smiled. “Well, not exactly a very persistent investigator, is he?” He asked the man who had arrived recently, with his strange accent. “Coruscant, is it?” He asked the man then. “where you came from? You came from Coruscant to Corellia? Quite a distance to travel to help poor and sick.” He smiled at the young man and somewhere behind them, outside the tunnel there were noises, turmoil.

Lora Skywalker waited until the last second and just as the two packs were about to pass her to hunt the Padawan´s the two powerful waves escaped her grip and were unleashed onto her enemies. The riders were grabbed by it, as the ground itself seemed to give in and wiped from the ground. Some crashed into ruins, those who were hit more directly were crushed by the power. Most just tumbled and lost their balance, though. They forgot their original targets immediately. The surprise, the humiliation, the loss of control challenged their anger towards their attacker.
From all three sides the packs approached her now, with Mufassa´s the only one she had not yet attacked, but also the one that had charged for her and would reach her first.
And only now he felt it, he felt it in this worthy prey. She was a predator. The cold, deadly power a Sith was all too familiar with burned inside of her.

Janus had grabbed his own blade and found his strength again. His fear made him run. He looked over to Ven, as the ground shook and risked a single run to the rear, where he saw the power of Skywalker unleashed. And then they reached the second defense line and quickly two elder Jedi of Mon Calamari origin stepped aside, allowing them to get behind their lines and quickly closing their ranks again. Not too far away the battle was still raging, as those parts of the Western front unable to flee back to the second defense perimeter were picked apart by the Sith. The eastern line was still in full engagement though, as the battle had been fueled by Atlas-groups arrival.

And in the middle of it all was Arek Longstar, dueling a Sith Lord in the midst of the battle. Lord Vibre was a surprising opponent, though. There was no angry attack, no giving in to anger. No, he was defensive, patient and precise, circling his enemy, engaging him in a dance of blades to test the others defense while never giving up his own. Vibre made no mistake, revealed no flaw in his technique. He just danced the dance of blades, waiting for his enemy to make a mistake. “Impressive Jedi, but you are not yet a Master.” He hissed and another wave of attacks and counterattacks was exchanged.
Somewhere behind them a soldier of the Protectorate screamed. “They´re retreating!” And indeed the battle-group imprisoned between the Atlas group and the second line seemed to have broken the line of Atlas and used this to retreat, saving their lives.

Terryn Kae slashed out and the Sith fell, the lightsaber rolling from his dead hands, as he was hit by the young Jedi´s energy blade. Yet as Kae turned he saw the Slayer had been even quicker with his enemies. Lousea and her Imbued lay at his feet, dead. The last was just collapsing, holding his throat in a desperate and futile fight for a breathe of air. The pale mask of the Sith turned to Kae and instead of moving forward, the Sith stepped back and vanished in the ranks of the Sith. Were the attacks growing less intense? It certainly appeared to be the case.

Because all Sith on Nesron heard the voice. RETREAT. Most would never have heard it before, but the voice was so clear, the words so obviously carried by power, they had to obey.

Urijah took a step back as the guards slowly moved around him, "“This is a restricted area. Jedi!” Urijah detected no friendliness in the guard's voice, nor in any of the other men who started to surround him. The men who circled Urijah looked as if they were exceptionally good with their weapons as well. Urijah on the other hand had been an avid user of form Zero during his time away, only resorting to lightsaber combat when he came across Sith or if his life or someone else's was really in danger( not often). This severely handicapped Urijah, as much time as he had spent mastering Juyo and mainly Soresu for these situations, his meager experiences in combat over the past five years would put him at a sheer disadvantage to the several trained men who surrounded him.

He took a second look around at the guards encircling him and then up looking for something he could perhaps jump up to, there was nothing in his capabilities, even with using the force. "Look, I"m not going to hurt any of you," he said as he put his hands up in front of him trying to signal his unwillingness to fight . "I just simply want to know what has happened here." Urijah began to grow extremely hot under his robes and began to sweat. These men were didn't look like they were just about to let him walk away unscathed. At this moment Urijah began to wish he would've stayed with Cilarn and the classy rouge in the death infested tunnels.

What would he do if he had to fight these men? Urijah was not about to start cutting soldiers down willy-nilly as his father did, he would have to either escape or incapacitate these men with out killing them. Then Urijah's hopes of trying to fight the guards were crushed as he began to notice several security droids add to the men surrounding him, effectively eliminating any possible way of engaging his adversaries somewhat safely. "I will leave peacefully if I may know what has happened here," Urijah said as the lightsabers on his belt began to quiver as he prepared to summon them to his hands in case these guards did not plan on letting him leave peacefully.

They were direct, blunt and yet highly efficient in their coordination. Zara knew Imbued only from reading and hearsay. Raised on Korriban, where the Sith did not allow anybody but true Sith to roam the halls of the
Praxaeum, she had only seen them from afar at times. Yet, most Imubed had seen many battles and so had these. Skill and power would have to make up for that. Zara would try to see, if she had enough of both. Sidestepping, she allowed the blade that came down on her to hit the floor, as she slashed out to the side as she passed the Imbued. She saw the sparks from the brink of her eyes, felt the plasma burn through the metal of the attackers armor and into his neck. And then the strange release of the Imubed into the force. Something was wrong with those forced-force-users. Something felt very . . . unnatural. She had not time to meditate on it, now. Before his body would drop to the ground, she needed to have it on it´s way.

With a short yell, she unloaded the force summo9ned by her mind and send the armored body flying towards the second attacker who went after the Prime Minister, hopefully intercepting him.

It would not kill him, but showing she was superior was a good start. Fear was a Sith´s ally, was it? Extending her hand she summoned the blade of the falle Imbued to her hand and turned to the third attacker, expecting him not to have been inactive while she subdued his colleagues.

The side slash worked, as it usually did. The Sith opponent might of seen him coming, but the delay time was only a fraction of a second. No way too soon for the man to be able to stop running. He was dead before he hit the ground, his light saber bouncing several times on the ground before it rolled to a stop. Terryn wasn't moving though. A presence he had been focused on dimmed, flickered, and then sputtered out. Terryn spun around, heart pounding and blood rushing as he watched Lousea collapse at the feet of the Slayer. He hadn't looked away but a few seconds, and now she was dead.

He had led her to the slaughter. Terryn rose to his feet, watching as several Imbued fell around Lousea. He had depleted them within several seconds. And after meeting his eyes for a second, the Slayer began to back away.

"ARE YOU AFRAID?!?" Terryn roared, trying to shout over the clashing of sabers and screams of the fallen. The fights were slowly diminishing though. Were they succeeding in the advancement? No. . .the Sith were backing away. They were retreating. He wouldn't let them get away.

Lousea's face was permanently implanted in his mind. She had listened to him like a hopeful follower. She believed he would lead her in the right direction. He was the man who conquered Bakura. But. . .she was dead. In a violent rage, he began to swing and shout, waving his lightsaber about at any and everything in his path. Everything seemed to be painted in red. And then he was standing above her body. He sank down to the ground, examining the wide burn scar that ran from her neck to her hip. Her eyes were still open. Not in fear though. In a final, brave stand.

Terryn placed his fingertips on her eyelids and slowly closed her eyes. Then he stood and watched as retreat became the Sith's number one objective. The Slayer was lost in the sea. But he would find him.

He had not expected the whine of a blaster shot and was even more shocked when Saya vanished right in front of him. When had been the last time a Jedi had become one with the Force? The fact that she had, supports the truth of her words, he thought as he stared blankly at the rumpled robes of the woman who had existed just moments before.

"Are you okay, sir?" asked the black armored Imbued whom he remembered being called Trest. Erian blinked up at the Imbued commander and was glad for the poor lighting in the sewer. The shadows hid the indignant blush at having to be rescued and that he no doubt looked like he was shell shocked by the abruptness of Saya's death and their appearance.

"No," he replied quietly once he regained his composure. He tried to stand without help but the wound in his leg refused to ease up on the pain. He used Trest as a crutch to get back to his feet and then leaned his weight on his good leg. The words the fallen Jedi Master had spoken into the Force persisted in his mind. Go to Tython, and your quest for the truth will begin.

Erian glanced down at the robes and without a second thought, called the lightsaber of the Seer to his hand. He looked it over in the dim light and knew that this weapon should not be discarded like some tool or handed over as a prize or proof of the deed done. A true Jedi had lost her life this day and he was partly responsible for that loss.

There is hope. He would keep her lightsaber as a reminder of that hope and his role in vanquishing one more spark of light in the galaxy. He would go to Tython and seek the answers he sought and find the truth. It was his duty as a Jedi and as an Inquisitor. It never occurred to him before until today that perhaps the Protectorate or someone within could be a traitor or fallen. That they were all wrong.

I will go to Tython and let the Force guide me.

To the Imbued commander he said, "Our task here is done. Master Saya is dead, everything else is irrelevant. Where is Lila?"

With Janus having recovered, Ven was able to focus on running back to Republic lines. At any moment he expected his danger sense to go off with hostile intent or - if his danger sense didn't warn him - just a sudden stab in the back from either a Sith or one of those sithspawned war beasts that Master Skywalker was battling against. Speaking of whom, Ven did feel a moment's hesitation during his run and he looked over his shoulder, wondering if he should turn back and offer Lora his aid.

A sudden, powerful burst in the Force that jarred Ven's senses at the same time he saw those beasts flying through the air told him that the only helpful assistance that he could possibly give to Lora was perhaps hold her cloak.

They were soon back within Republic lines. Two Jedi Mon Calamari stepped aside at his and Janus's approach and a moment later they were passed them and found safety. Here, Ven allowed himself to take a breather even if it would only be a minute - possibly less - before he was fighting for his life again. Nonetheless, the Padawan was soon on his knees and suddenly noticed just how hard he was breathing. Not just because of the run but also because of the battle and the close shave he had with death. His adrenaline was cut off, numerous aches and pains hit him, and Ven could really do nothing except stay on his hands and knees while sweat dripped down his face and wet the sand beneath him.

"We actually...made it..." Ven breathed out. He regretted it. Sand, smoke, and ash passed through his open mouth and stuck to his throat, making him cough. He sought for the canteen that he usually carried, was happy to find that it was there, before unscrewing the cap. From the weight of it he was down to his last sip. With the battle of attrition having started, he had been careful to ration it as much as he could but upon bringing it to his lips and taking a sip, the last of the water went down his throat.

It was refreshing at least. He had done what he could to siphon off from the Force to nourish his tired and sore body but nothing really beat hot food or cool water. His head was already clearing, he no longer felt parched, and for a moment he allowed himself to believe that he would be able to survive another day.

The battle will be decided before then, Ven thought grimly while he returned the now empty canteen to his belt. In the next hour I'll either be dead, hiding, or on a dropship back to-

His body jerked. Not knowing what made him do so now, the Padawan turned his head and peered back in the direction that he and Janus just came from. Though they were taking a break, the battle was still going on. Their center and eastern lines were holding, but the western had collapsed and Ven could feel the most deaths from that direction, Jedi and Republic troops alike finding their deaths in grisly, bloody slaughter before being ferried off to the Force. And yet, amidst all that carnage, the Padawan thought there was....something else.

As violent as the battle was, the Padawan took note of something. Specifically of how the violence was lessening. Though Republic and Sith forces continued to viciously fight for their lives in either defense or conquest, the Sith were...pulling back? He couldn't know for certain but, bit by bit, the deafening sounds of battle were lessening. It was subtle but one hissing lightsaber being drawn back turned into two and four silent blaster carbines turned into eight, the pattern increasing as the seconds ticked by.

Longstar had never been in single combat with a true Sith Lord for such an extended period of time. Admittedly, he had entered the duel not totally certain of his opponent’s level of familiarity with the Dark side of the Force, but after a few minutes he became very sure of what he was dealing with. Vibre’s style was not unlike his own, more calculated and reserved. Both were waiting for the other to make an error in judgment but that time never seemed to come.

The flow of combat was broken for a moment when Vibre withdrew temporarily, ”Impressive Jedi, but you are not yet a master.”

The world around the two came rushing back into focus in a moment of blinding clarity – it was as if postponing his perception of the greater conflict on Nesron to deal with Vibre had accumulated a backup cache of Force sense. It was too much to sort out right then and there, but he knew his overextended troopers and Jedi were too exerted at this point to prevent portions of Vibre’s force from slipping back through their lines in a strategic withdrawal. They had however caused a great deal of Sith casualties and bought the trapped 115th Army a few more minutes.

He took the chaos of this tipping point to press his attack for a few more moments, before men from his portion of Atlas began calling out that the Sith were in general retreat. Unsure of what the conditions were across the rest of the field, he had to resume command. Arek pressed a fierce saber flurry against Vibre, eventually coming face-to-face with the near human Sith Lord in a saber lock. Speaking in a low voice to his opponent as the chaos of battle around them seemingly began to lull, he smirked, “Stalemate. Your troops are broken, better run along with them. I'll find you soon enough.”

Ending their lock with a shove, he motioned to allow his worthy opponent the chance to flee along with the other Sith. He needed Vibre to take the opportunity, because he desperately needed to contact Terryn Kae and Lora Skywalker to find out what in the hell was going on.

Darth Korsin allowed himself to be guided deeper into the capital ship, paying little heed to the oh-so-very-attractive aide. He quickly concluded that this Admiral was worthy of attention, when his little droid spy began to respond inconsistently. Information had been severely curtailed to allow for this secret meeting. Korsin did not immediately cast an eye to the Drall officer, instead, spending much of his focus upon the table - simple, a holoprojector - and the looming droid. A Sith TX Assassin Droid. The skeletal machine was not a pleasant one to gaze upon, and within a lesser Jedi would have inspired fear. Korsin was aware that a batch had been attacked by pirates, months ago, and one single unit was missing - he seen the bulletin across the SithNet for all operatives to watch out for. Interesting.

Finally Korsin focused his attention on the nonhuman behind it all.

The Admiral smiled, and revealed glittering teeth. A human expression, it could carnivorous more than any other emotion. Filled with secrets.

Korsin returned the expression, but filled his with less aggression. This was his forte.

Diplomacy.

The Sith Lord bowed slightly, but not entirely over his arm. "Admiral. It is a pleasure." He raised up, stepping to the table. "I hope I have not inconvenienced you too much, and, if I have," his smile widened, and he exuded amusement into the Force, "then I can hope to convince you that it will be worth it for you."

It was disquiting. The howling of the wounded, the riderless, and those for whom the riders pulled and grasped nerves and ganglions with such fiercess as the insistance of the force culminated in a beast being hurled by a small strip within it's back. Some died and he felt it as the pieces of himself died, as he dove in, flew back, was injured, was dying, was dead, was fresh. . . he was the packs and the pack was him. Anger streamed and screamed at him from the two packs so injured and accosted by this woman. No more did he care about the Padawans and twisting the knife in this woman, as the one flaw of himself that he recognized dominated him. He was the packs, and the pack was him, and too many of himself were angry or dead, and with that sudden event he was enslaved to the will of the pack, and in a perverted way it became his own will.

Already committed he advanced and felt the dawning of revelation in this apocalyptic wasteland. The force sung with it, in that moment, and he knew her, as he knew himself as he knew many. For she. . .She was like father. His pack stopped with yet a gap between him and her as the shared shock of this fact echoed through out the three packs present, and he moved one forward with head tilted in a quizical and possibly subserviant air to it. "Mother?" it questioned in a deep growl. Then the force echoed with the powerful call that he could not ignore and three packs whinned as they gave a wide with-drawing birth to this woman, withdrawing as he was called to do. Yet the one that had moved forward stayed still, a remaining visage to watch her to the last of the retreat, or to die by her. Either way he would watch, as long as he was able before leaving.

The soldier seemed to consider what hte Jedi tried to accomplish with his question, then half of his men lowered their guns, leaving more than enough guns pointed at the Jedi. “Nothing out of the ordinary happened, Jedi. What are you talking about? Before you tried to enter without authorization, we had a quite a quiet night. Not even the furry ones thought it´s warm enough to demonstrate.” He laughed and his crew joined him.

They had no idea what was going on above them. Whoever had entered the building, had done so without them realizing it. And yet Urijah felt someone die above and then another one and the danger he had felt before began to vanish from the force. Someone was fighting up there, after all.

The first of the remaining attackers was indeed trying to pass her, but he was to smart to try it, after she had seen his attempt, instead he attacked her with an unbalanced but powerful stab, while his colleague leaped into her back from behind, trying to end her, so he could take care of the real mission.
The Prime Minister.

“She is on her way. She captured another one.” That was all the soldier said and then he prepared the holographic recording for the High Inquisitor. Another Imbued looked at Erian´s leg. “Nothing a few hours of bacta can´t fix.” He sighed and then straightened up to salute, as Lila appeared, behind her a platoon of Imbued having the Fallen One, Masaya in energy chains and in custody.

“Erian, are you okay? As I see you found our treacherous little seer.” Lila gave him a dry smile. “Good work, soldier.” She complimented the Imbued. Then she turned to Erian. “And just in time, I was informed the High Inquisitor is about to arrive here to take matters into his own hands. He will be proud we already finished the job.” She nodded, always eager to impress her superiors, always eager to proof herself.
“And we got that nasty little girl as a bonus.”

The men began to laugh. Urijah stood there shocked, a moment ago these men were ready to kill him and now they were laughing at him. Hardly the polite thing to do, Urijah thought. Even so avoiding a loss of life in situations like those were always a plus. As that thought passed through Urijah's head he felt a small ting and looked to the penthouse on top the the building, it grew slightly as he looked up. That's not good...That's not good at all... Urijah realized that he could not leave without sorting this "ting" out.

Urijah cleared his throat, interrupting the guards laughing session, "Excuse me how might I get in there (Points his hand forward indicating the Government Building) with your authorization of course." Urijah stressed "authorization" wildly, not happy with the situation that had just been presented before him: Something important just occurred in that building and something told him getting the guards authorization would be tricky. He began to wonder how Cilarn managed to fair here so well when guards are so fast to accusations and pointing guns everywhere.

Erian was not proud of what had happened today and was not looking forward to dealing with the High Inquisitor if the man was indeed coming here. He would have to tread carefully around his superior if he wanted to seek the truth revolving around what had happened on Tython and with Master Saya.

"Yes, so we did," he answered in a quiet tone. He regarded Lila carefully, noting the eagerness her voice and body language. He knew she was striven to prove herself to be as worthy as any naturally born Force-sensitive Jedi and grew frustrated with the limitations of the experiment that granted her the Force. She reminded him of his apprentice. Eager, hopeful, and accepting of the truth that was given to her. It pained him to see the same blindness that had been in himself and his apprentice be reflected in Lila.

How far have we fallen?

He then met Masaya's gaze briefly before looking away.

He had given her a chance to live and it was for naught. The woman would die sooner or later unless she managed to get away. But there was nothing he could do for her right now. Then again he wasn't even sure if he should help her. What had she done since her fall? Why did she forsake the Jedi teachings and choose to hunt her master? There is no ignorance, there is knowledge, he silently repeated the mantra. He did not know the whole story and he would be damned to let this woman be condemned to death first without her side being told and the truth known.

And perhaps she could help him find the truth he was seeking. She obviously knew something of what had happened on Tython or a version of it anyway.

"Bring her," he commanded and allowed himself to be aided by an Imbued to walk. "I have questions that need answering. How long until the High Inquisitor arrives?" He needed to know how much time he had with Masaya before the High Inquisitor took over the entire case.